[blogpower] still alive - see you soon

One or two of the Blogpowerers might be wondering where I've got to. Actually, I've been roaming around the L-Z and Fine Blog section of my blogroll and am wending my way slowly up the list. I'll inflict myself on you soon, no doubt.

[blogfocus tuesday] simple, homespun prose [part 2]

To complete the simple, homespun theme this evening, we’ll look at 14 bloggers [plus one Mystery Blogger] in three different categories.

The ‘rustic’ category

1] Have you ever sat in a garden shed, having first moved the tools out of the way and reflected on life? This man has:

Every so often we should all take some time to review the larger questions in life - death certainly is high on the list and we should occasionally take the time to think it over. Not to live in fear, but to live as we always intended to with purpose and confidence. Mine's going a bit better now I've just dealt with life's other certainty - filling in my annual UK tax return !

2] This man was not exactly sitting in a garden shed but he was still fairly rustic about it all, just the same:

A view of a nicely manicured garden including olive trees near Grasse. If you look at the hill behind you see many, many more olive trees in gardens too. Once upon a time all these were "working" olive trees, but these days I would guess very few of them are actually harvested. I suspect that the ones in the foreground, which is the garden of large old chateau/villa, have always been partly there for display but I am sure that once upon a time they were used for oil as well.

3] Whilst this man moved his entire house. Well actually, he moved to another house, to be precise. Whether it has a garden shed or not is not stated:

When you move house, naturally, you then need to get the telecoms in the new place sorted out. Portugal Telecom has a system whereby you can transfer your old account to the new place. Excellent. However, there has been a slight hitch as ADSL at the desired speed is not available [we're that little bit too rural]. So, instead of telling us this the order was simply cancelled. So, today, off to the Telecom shop to get it all reinstated.

Eleven more bloggers plus one Mystery Blogger here.

[dissolution] back to the middle ages

If you are British, which of the above do you want running your life? These are the only realpolitik, the only real choices. All others are pies in the sky. Here is an Australian article, originally from the Guardian, whose motives I suspect.

1] The Union between Scotland and England has a good claim to be the most enduring and successful international partnership in history, yet the atmosphere on its 300th anniversary this month is anything but celebratory.
2] The SNP argues that an independent Scotland would be able to follow Ireland in slashing corporation tax to attract higher levels of inward investment. Rubbish.
3] The SNP argues that cutting corporation tax rates would increase revenue. It is more likely that capital would flee. England will remain Scotland's most important export market by far.
4] Scotland's voice would also be diminished on the international stage.
5] The new nationalism in England in many ways mimics its Scottish counterpart, especially in its capacity for self-pity. The "Scottish raj" in Westminster is a fiction.
6] The idea that the English are an oppressed majority is even more risible than the Braveheart fantasies of the SNP.
7] On any reasonable needs-based assessment, Scotland merits higher public spending because of lower population density and poorer health.
8] England has less to lose from independence than Scotland but England would become more dependent on energy imports.
9] It would have to find somewhere else to base its Trident fleet.
10] The British Army would become more overstretched.
11] Scotland's independence would precipitate the departure of Wales.
12] Even Northern Ireland might not relish the idea of being a mere appendage.
13] UN Security Council implications and the diminishment of the separate parts on the world stage.
14] There is almost nothing that Scotland and England could do separately that they cannot do better together as part of the UK.
15] The real issue is one of political leadership.

I feel there is another issue no one’s looking at. Broken up as a nation, British citizens are then at the mercy first of the EU and then of the World Government which is very much in the pipeline. For this reason and for reasons 13, 14 and 15 above, this blog opposes dissolution and supports the 300 year Union.

[film quiz] how many of these 10 do you know

1] In which film does Robert de Niro play the role of Travis Bickle?

2] Who played the male and female leads in the 1950 film King Solomon's Mines?

3] For which two films did Marlon Brando win an Oscar?

4] Who was the creator of the TV series "ER"?

5] Marty McFly's having the time of his life. The only question is - what time is it? Slogan for which film?

6] Which two US presidents has Anthony Hopkins played in film?

7] In the film "Summer Holiday" with Cliff Richards, where do they drive their bus to?

8] Who directed "L'histoire de Adèle H" and "L'argent de poche"?

9] In 1979, one person starred in the two biggest grossing films of the year: "Amityville Horror" and "Superman". Who?

10] What nationality is Meryl Streep's character in "Sophie's Choice"?

Answers here …

[china] the scope of the threat [part 3]

According to General Li Jijun, one of China's most distinguished military authors and former Vice President of AMS, the greater danger to a nation's survival is not warfare but "strategic misdirection".

Part 1 is here. At the end of Part 2, it was clear that China needed to develop and reinforce its western borders, develop sea lanes and form alliances with various countries. Another thing it needs to be aware of is strategic misdirection, particularly from the USA.

Strategic misdirection

According to the Chinese, The United States brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union with strategic misdirection. Through various means, such as the Strategic Defense Initiative, which the US had no intention of ever deploying, the Soviets greatly increased their defense budget.

The US also supported opposition in Poland and Afghanistan, drove down the price of oil to cut off the main source of Soviet foreign exchange, and exacerbated the domestic Soviet political crisis.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, following secessionist moves in the Baltic States, was a lesson China noted. In 1990, Washington made deliberately deceptive comments to Saddam Hussein through the U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad, to the effect that the United States did not care if he invaded Kuwait.

Citing the lessons of history, General Li warns that "unconsciously accepting an opponent's strategic misdirection causes a nation to be defeated or collapse, and not know why." An article in the June issue of Zhongguo Pinglun concludes:

"The Western forces are attempting to drag China into the mire in the arms race. The United States is planning to pursue a theatre missile defense system, so that the Chinese will step into the shoes of the former Soviet Union. In an arms race with the United States, China will consume its national power and collapse without a battle."

How can that be translated into practical action? That’s not openly stated but one would assume that China would employ some of its own strategic misdirection and perhaps the Karakoram Highway is an example of this, perhaps not.

More here …

[tumbleweeds] a personal favourite revisited

Bit difficult to read the way Blogger posts pics:

Injun: Our war canoo has sinked with all aboard!

Chief: Oh no.

Injun: They're in the water shreekin and screaming!

Chief: They're drowning?

Injun: Nah, too shallow. But the bottom's all mucky and yucky and awful squishy!

I always used to cut this comic strip out of the day’s paper and so I had quite a collection after a few years. I think they’re still in a box somewhere and you can’t get them on the web. Apart from the humour, the major thing about this cartoon was the way it got into Indian life from an Indian’s own ironical viewpoint, as well as from the white man’s. Here’s a short bio of Tom K. Ryan, the toonist:

The strip made its first newspaper appearance in 1965, and was an immediate fan favorite. Ryan claims that Tumbleweeds is the result of his exclusive access to long-suppressed files on a secret corner of the Old West.

Tumbleweeds was animated for Saturday morning television in the late 1970s, and in 1983 was the subject of a musical. The strip also inspired a live stage attraction in Las Vegas, as well as a theme-park area at the MGM Grand theme park, called "Tumbleweeds Gulch."

Ryan takes great satisfaction in the fact that American Indians are fans of Tumbleweeds. He has received numerous commendations from Indian educators, editors and tribesmen, all of whom applaud the strip's combination of comic and cultural elements and Ryan's ability to capture the Indian sense of humor.

Homesite here. Another good bio here. The real thing here.